Electric tumbler switch



June 14, 1938. R. H. BENTLEY 2,120,423

ELECTRIC TUMBLER SWITCH Filed Feb. 7, 1936 INVENTOR ROBERT H. BENTLEY BY HIS ATTORNEYS Patented June 14, 1938 pm ransrArss PATENT OFFICE.

ELECTRIC TUMBLEB SWITCH Robert 11. Bentley, Hartford, Conn, assignor a} The Arrow-Bart a Hegeman Electric Oompanv,.flartiord. Conn, a corporation of Connecticut Application February i, 1936, Serial No. 62,845

Claims. (01. zoo-1s) in one end for the accommodation oi! terminal insulate the current carrying contacts from each other when the switch is in open circuit position. v

A further .object of this invention is to provide common means for supporting the snap mechanism and for shielding the snap mecha-' nism from the live parts of the switch.

Other objects and advantages of my' -invention will become apparentas it is described in connection with the accompanying drawing:--

Figure 1 is a'plan view looking into the interior of a switch constructed according to the principles of my invention, when the contact actuating mechanism has been removed.

Figure 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectionview' of the tumbler snap switch shown in Figure 1 with the section taken along line 2 -2 of Figure 1,- when the switch is fully assembled.

Figure 3' is a longitudinal vertical section taken :10 along line H of Figure 1 of my switch, as

shown in Figure 1.

Figure 4 is a longitudinal vertical section view like Figure 3, but with the parts in open 'circuit position.

Figure 5 1: a perspective view'of the contact operating yoke and bar. Referring to the drawing the switch parts are mounted within arectangular insulating casing having a bottom formed integrally with the side walls of the casing and having an open'top. The

casing is partiallyhhollowed out and recessed at appropriate points .i'or the reception of the switch-parts, as willbe more fully described. Adjacent each corner, theswitch casing is hollowed out to iorm rectangularrecesses iilr. Of these recesses. those on the same side of the casingare Joined by a narrow vertic'alslot or I in which contact carrying insulating plates Cl and 4.8 slide as will be hereinafter more particularly described. In opposite walls ot-thesell adjacent'the endwalls llle oi the casing there are provided grooves for the accom modation o! the edges of wlreterminals i2, l 4.

- IO and; II which may be formed of rectangular l6 sheet metal stamping: havlng 'threaded apertures screws 20. The end walls of the casing'are out through adjacent each bottom corner and providing access to the wire terminals from the exterior of the casing and for the accommodation of the wire terminal screws 20. Riveted to the top portions of the Wire terminals" and M are L-shaped resilient-strips of sheet metal 22 and 24 forming stationary contacts 01 which the longer leg extends along theside of the casing adjacent the top edge. The shorter legs of these contact members are-secured by rivets 26 to their respective wire terminals. The side walls oi. thecasing are recessed or stepped back to provide "9. 139.553 the longer legs. f e contact members, the:

Secured to the top. portions or the wire termi: nals l6 and. it by rivets 28 are the shorter legs of L-shaped strips of sheet metal forming additional stationary contact members 26 and 88, the longer legs-oi. which extend, adjacent the center line but on opposite sides of a rectangular barrier 'or'post lop remaining within the interior of the switch casing. .The extremities of the contact members 22', 24, 26 and 38, all lie within the central zone of the switch casing and may; but need not; necessarily be in overlapping relation;

- In the preferred embodiment .of-theinvention illustrated, theen'ds oi! these contact members are adapted to be engaged by movable bridging contacts 40 and 42 formed from strips of sheet metal bent into U-shape and then having their ends bent inopposltedirections parallel to the base of the U. These bridging contact members are each carried by a piece oi rectilinearly movable -sheet insulation l4 and 46 respectively.

These contact carrying insulating plates are adapted to slide longitudinally cask and forth within the casing in longitudinally extendlngpassages at 50, the sides of which form gliding-sun faces to .ensure rectilinear movement of the plates. The bottom edges of the plates are adapt-- ed to slide upon the bottom of the casing. The plates may be substantially rectangular in shape 1 with their lower corners cut awayso as not to engage with the shanks of the terminal screws 20 which extend within the casing in the neighborhood of the path of movement of these insulating plates, as may be seen best by referring to Figures 3 and 4.

In order to support the bridging contacts 40 and 42, the insulating plates 44 and '48 are each provided with a pair'of short parallel slots extending perpendicularly in from the central portion of the top edges. of the plates. The bridging contacts are slid edgewise into these slots with the central parts of the contacts lying against the inside surfaces of the plates and the ends of the contacts lying against the outsides of the plates. The depth of these slots is determined by the position which the bridging contact must occupy in order to engage with its stationary contacts. In the embodiment shown, the upper edge of the bridging contact is flush with the upper edge of the contact carrying insulating plate.

In order to move the insulating plates and to cause engagement and disengagement of the bridging contacts with their cooperating stationary contacts, a recess or slot such as s is cut in the central portion of the bottom edge of each of the plates into which recesses the ends of an actuating rod or pin 60 extend. This pin is carried by a U-shaped sheet metal stamping or yoke 62, the pin extending through the legs 62a of the yoke adjacent the bridging portion "b thereof. This yoke is capable of oscillation under the action of a snapping mechanism hereinafter more particularly described. The yoke is supported by having the ends of its legs outturned in opposite directions and bent into semicircular form as at 62c and supported in semicircular bearing recesses 63 in the top edges of insulating inserts 66 and 68.

These insulating inserts 66 and G8 are stamped from sheet insulation in the irregular form illustrated in Figure 2 and are adapted to stand vertically in the switch casing with their ends received in vertical slots l0, 12, I4 and 16, which are formed in the" casing beside the posts .Hip and parallel to the slots 50. The inserts G6 and 68 have openings such as 68a formed in their bottom edges to permit free swinging movement of the actuating rod or pin 60 as will hereinafter more fully appear.

On the top of the insulating casing there is a rectangular sheet insulation cover having a central aperture therethrough for the inner end of a conventional switch operating lever 82 which may be mounted in the neck of a threaded nipple 84 which in turn is mounted in a metallic top plate 86 in a conventional fashion. This metallic plate may be secured to the insulating casing by bolts 88 which pass through the casing from back to front and take into threaded apertures in the plate. Any suitable form of snap mechanism may be applied between the end of the switch operating lever and the actuating yoke 62. Since the snapping mechanism forms in itself no part of this invention I have omitted showing it in detail in the interest of clearn'ess. A snap mechanism which I have found to be particularly adapted for use in my switch is described and illustrated in the patent to Monroe Guett No. 1,335,106, patented March 30, 1920.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that as the switch operating lever is moved from right to left the actuating yoke 62 is caused to swing about its pivot hearings to the right from the position shown in Figure 2, and in so doing the ends of the rod 60 bring engaged with the sides of the slots in the contact carrying plates, for instance with 46s, will cause the contact carrying plates 44, 46 to move from the position shown in Figure 4 to that shown in Figure 3 thereby bringing the bridging contact into engagement with the stationary contacts and completing the circuit between wire terminals 16 and I2, and II and i4. Upon reverse movement of the operating handle, the contact carrying plates 44 and 46 will move in the opposite direction, that is from the position shown in Figures 1 and 3 to the position shown in Figure 4 thereby breaking the circuit and bringing the upper edge of the contact carrying plates between the stationary contacts and effectively insulating the stationary contacts as well as quenching or extinguishing any are which may have developed upon the contact separation. It should be observed that the insulating inserts 66 and $8 not only support the actuating yoke 62 but also insulate it and the snap mechanism from the contacts thereby prohibiting the possibility of an are playing into the snap mechanism and at the same time removing the likelihood of engagement of any metal part or object with the snap mechanism and with the live parts of the switch whereby a person operating the switch might receive a shock.

Many modifications within the scope of my invention will occur to those skilled in the art, therefore I do not limit the invention to the specific embodiment shown.

I claim:-

1. In a tumbler snap switch, an insulating casing, fixed contacts mounted at opposite ends and extending toward the center of the casing, an insulating plate parallel to the side wall of said casing and movable between said contacts and forming a baflle between them in open circuit position of the switch, a bridging contact mounted on said plate and adapted to bridge said fixed contacts, snap mechanism for moving said plate, insulating pl'ates inserted in slots in said casin on opposite sides of said snap mechanism and shielding said fixed contacts from said snap mechanism, said inserted plates supporting said snap mechanism.

2. In a tumbler switch, an insulating casing, fixed contacts mounted in said casing and having oppositely directed faces, a bridging contact slidable between said faces, mechanism for movin said bridging contact with a snap, a pair of insuiating plates on opposite sides of said snap mechanism affording support for said snap mechanism and shielding it from said fixed contacts, said supporting plates being inserted in slots in said casing from the front of the casing.

3. In a tumbler switch, an insulating casing, pairs of fixed contacts at opposite sides of the casing, the contact faces of each pair facing oppositely, a pair of rectilinearlymovable insulating plates movable between said pairs of fixed contacts. a pair of bridging contacts for connectin said pairs of fixed contacts and mounted on said plates, snap mechanism between said pairs of fixed contacts, insulating plates between said snap mechanism and said fixed contacts and supporting said snap mechanism, a swinging rod carried by said snap mechanism and engaging with said contact carrying plates to cause movement of said contact carrying plates as said snap mechanism is actuated.

4. In a tumbler switch, an insulating casing, pairs of fixed contacts on opposite sides of said casing, bridging contacts for connecting the fixed contacts of the respective pairs, insulated supporting means for said bridging contacts, snap mechanism including a swinging rod engaging with said bridging contact supporting means for moving said bridging contacts as said mechanismis actuated, and insulating supporting means for said snap mechanism insertable into said casing from the front and shielding said snap mechanism from said fixed contacts.

5. In a tumbler switch, an insulating casing, said bridging contacts as said mechanism is acpairs of fixed contacts on opposite sides of said tuated, and a pair of insulating plates having casing, bridging contacts for connecting the contheir ends fitted into slots in said casing suptacts of the respective pairs, insulated supporting porting said snap mechanism and shielding it means for said bridging contacts, snap mechafrom said fixed contacts. 5 nism including a swinging rod engaging with said bridging contact supporting means for moving ROBERT H. BENTLEY. 

